


Necessity's Inevitable Intervention

by DeadricDaughter19



Series: Fixing Mistakes We've Yet to Make [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Amphitrite Accepts Her Step-Children, Background Relationships, Book 1: The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson), Canon character deaths, Canon-Typical Violence, Characters Reading Percy Jackson Books, Demigod Dionysus, Demigod Odysseus, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Relationships, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gay Characters, Gen, Getting to Know Each Other, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, In the book they're reading anyways, Mortal Ariadne, Multi, Non-Graphic Descriptions, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Platonic Relationships Not Mentioned in Tags, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Percy Jackson has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Persephone Also Accepts Her Step-Children, Platonic Relationship Focus, Platonic Relationships, Poseidon (Percy Jackson) is a Good Parent, Post-Labyrinth, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pre-Completing Labors, Pre-Hunters of Artemis Zoë, Pre-Odyssey, Protective Gods, Protective Poseidon (Percy Jackson), Protective Siblings, Reading the Books, Rewrite, Rewrite of To Change History, Sibling Bonding, Siblings, Slef-Indulgent, Slow To Update, Step-parents, Time Travel, Trials of Apollo Never Happened, background romantic relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:07:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25134373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeadricDaughter19/pseuds/DeadricDaughter19
Summary: It all started when Ananke, the Primordial Goddess of Inevitability and mother of the Three Fates, showed up on his ship. Then Theseus, Prince of Athens and son of Poseidon, found himself in the throne room of the gods about to sit down and read some texts about the far future. He has no idea what to expect or how to interact with anyone around him, he just hopes that his choices did not make the lives of future demigods worse. Clearly something must have gone horribly wrong if Mother Necessity and Father Time themselves were stepping in and messing with time to teach those of the past the future.Or, Ananke and Chronus Force the Olympians to be Actual Parents for Once in Their Immortal Lives (With Exceptions).DISLCAIMER: This story is going to be VERY canon divergent and will also not be very accurate to real life! It is not intended to be! I will be adjusting the story they are reading to better fit my overall story that I am curating around it!
Relationships: Amphitrite & Percy Jackson & Theseus & Orion, Amphitrite/Poseidon (Percy Jackson), Demigods & The Olympians, Hades/Persephone (Percy Jackson), Hera/Zeus (Percy Jackson), Hercules/Zoë Nightshade (Percy Jackson), Jason Grace & Thalia Grace & Hercules & Zeus, Nico di Angelo & Hazel Levesque & Hades, Nico di Angelo & Jason Grace & Thalia Grace & Percy Jackson & Hazel Levesque, Nico di Angelo/Percy Jackson, Odysseus & Athena, Orion & Artemis & Apollo, Past Demigods & Future Demigods, Percy Jackson & Theseus & Orion & Poseidon, Thalia Grace & Zoë Nightshade, Zoë Nightshade & Artemis, Zoë Nightshade & Hercules
Series: Fixing Mistakes We've Yet to Make [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1821319
Comments: 118
Kudos: 275
Collections: Reading the Books





	Necessity's Inevitable Intervention

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my rewrite of To Change History! Which tuned out to start out with little to no resemblance to my original story, lmao. I decided to do something different - something, to my knowledge, undone in this trope! We will be starting without a single Modern Era Demigod reading the story! Nope, just Ancient Heroes and the Gods. Also, I'm including Odysseus because 1) he's never used, 2) I want to explore the concept of Athena meeting a future child of hers without bringing Annabeth into it, and 3) I just wanted to explore the possibility of one of the mortals Heroes having actually been a demigod without it being well-known. Anyways, I intend to include primarily those who are directly relevant or who could have a positive impact in some way. Including Amphitrite and Persephone is because they can have a positive impact on the demigods who will be introduced later (albeit Persephone is actually mildly important to the series as well - not as much as her husband, but she still is). Perseus could've been relevant, however I ultimately have to pick and choose who I'm including to not overrun myself with characters and I decided that, ultimately, including a child of Athena of past was going to end up being more relevant/important than including another child of Zeus.
> 
> I also chose to go back so far because I wanted to explore Dionysus as a demigod and what he was like (I feel like he was less bitter for some reason). Plus I feel that him getting perspective as a demigod could carry over with positive impact into godhood. I also feel like the whole thing with Orion happened pre-Zoë for some reason. Am I the only one who feels that way?
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

Theseus stared out at the water, lost in thought as he leaned against the railing of the ship. The reflections of the stars and moon in the water was absolutely gorgeous, but it was hard to appreciate that beauty when he was exhausted and couldn't sleep. His nights since leaving Crete had been plagued by nightmares of the Labyrinth and dreams of leaving Ariadne on an island. He couldn't fathom why he was having the later, and it terrified him and left him feeling depressed. Yes, he was rather reckless and thoughtless, but what in Greece could convince him to leave Ariadne behind? He owed her his _life_ , there was no way he could just _abandon_ her for any reason. It left him feeling so deeply, greatly troubled and lost. He had no idea who to talk to about this - he wasn't sure that talking with Ariadne about it would be the right thing. Maybe he should pray for guidance - that sounded like the best option, though he feared what the answer would be. He also feared no answer at all would be given.

So lost in thought was the son of Poseidon, that he did not immediately notice when someone came to lean against the railing besides him. When at last he did, he was taken off guard by the woman whom he had never before seen. Silver hair pulled into a tight braid that was draped over her shoulder, a youthful face that was both thoughtful and tired as though she too were plagued by troubles she did not voice, with silver eyes that he knew could belong to no human. The young woman besides him exuded a quiet, yet overpowering aura that told him this was not simply a goddess he was in the presence of. He was frozen, speechless, and even slightly fearful. He was so stunned that he didn't register for several minutes that she had turned to look at him with those silver eyes, or that she held a spindle upon which threads of every color were wound.

"Greetings, Theseus of Athens, son of Poseidon," the woman greeted.

This startled the man, who stared at the woman in shock.

"P-pardon? My Lady, I believe there may have been some mistake-"

"No, there is no mistake," the woman shook her head, a sad but fond smile curling her gold-painted lips. "You are the son of three, Theseus, and one of them is Poseidon the Fourth Born. He respects your mother's decision to never disclose this to you and thus has never brought it up, though he would have helped if you ever asked."

"Is...is that why Mother told me I am safest at sea?"

"Yes, it is brave Theseus."

"I..." Theseus took a breath, shaking his head and trying to focus himself again. "I apologize, My Lady, but I do not recognize you."

"That is nothing to be sorrowful about," assured the woman, smiling still with that tinge of sadness. "Few know me, and all know my daughters three."

"Daughter's three?" Theseus glanced at the spindle the woman was holding. "You mean... the Moirai, My Lady?"

"Quite. I am Ananke, dictator of inevitability and embodiment of necessity. One of the few Primordials who is both awake and holds little interest in direct interference without proper causation - causation that is not petty, that is."

Theseus lost his voice, his eyes widening as his mind reeled with that information. For all his reckless impertinence, for all his daring challenges, he held gods in high regard and had even been fortunate enough to get advice from the goddess of wisdom herself, Athena, whom first advised him to seek the council of Princess Ariadne in how to navigate the Labyrinth so that he could complete his task and escape. That experience had only caused his respect and reverence for the gods to climb higher. To have a primordial, one of the _original_ beings from the very _beginning_ , standing before him...was else was there for him to do but drop to his knees and bow? He trembled lightly at knowing he was in the presence of the mother of _fate itself_. She who dictated births, who was the reason that _death existed at all_.

"I have come to you for a reason, and it relates to your dreams child," Ananke informed him, smile disappearing and her expression returning to how it was before. "The future holds much trouble, Theseus, and you are one of the players in the game."

"I...am?" Theseus looked up hesitantly. "Is my role...detrimental or positive?"

"That, at this current time, is still to be determined," Ananke said. "Rise, you needn't remain bowing. Your role, though small, leaves quite the impact on the future. Even the smallest choices can have the longest lasting effect. The dreams that haunt you are warning you of the choice you will have to make. I am here so that you understand just how deep the impact of that choice will be."

"Are there others whom you will be doing this with?" Theseus inquired curiously. He just _couldn't_ be the only one who she needed to inform.

"Yes, there are others," she agreed. "You will meet them soon, in fact. For part of the problem is how strained your family is."

"Strained?"

"Yes. Now, please go and fetch Ariadne - she, too, has a role to play. Once she has been informed of this, I shall send you two off to the others."

Theseus nodded, head reeling as he finally rose from his kneeling position. He was struggling to process all of this, that the primordial of inevitably herself was stepping in to change that which her daughters had laid out. Whatever his fate was, his destiny, it was about to be irrevocably altered. He descended into the main part of the ship, to the cabins and went to Ariadne's room. There, he knocked on her door, still dazed. When she opened her door, Theseus was greeted with stunning hazel-colored eyes and curly brown hair. She was in a night gown, which made sense given how late it was.

"Theseus?"

"Get dressed, Ariadne. I need to talk to you about something and then we'll be going. I'll explain once you're dressed, I promise. I'm...still processing this myself."

She hesitated, taking in how shaken her beloved looked. She nodded then, and closed the door again. Once she was dressed, she exited her room. Theseus looked a bit more collected now, ten minutes later, than he did when he knocked. This was relieving, though the fact he was shaken in the first place was concerning. She hadn't seen him so shaken since he stumbled out of the Labyrinth with only half the men he went inside with.

"Theseus, what's going on?" she pressed him when he turned his sea-colored eyes towards her. "Please tell me what is wrong."

"Lady Ananke, mother of the Lady Moirai, is on deck," Theseus' words caused Ariadne's mouth to dry. "Something is going to go wrong in the future, and we are among the ones whose decisions will contribute. She's sending us somewhere with the others who are key."

"It-it must be bad if the Lady of Necessity herself is here to change things herself," Ariadne said faintly, following Theseus up to the deck.

Theseus nodded in agreement as they approached the primordial goddess. The woman turned to them, smile gone and wearing her expression that she had when she first joined Theseus. She looked at them very seriously and held out a scroll.

"Take this," she told them. "You will read it to the others who are there when you arrive. Know that you will be stepping into the past and once you are there, time outside the room you enter will be frozen. There will be a single door that you and the others will be able to go through - it leads to a kitchen with mortal food as well as rooms to use for resting."

"I understand," Theseus nodded, accepting the scroll. He then turned to Ariadne, offering the scroll to her to hold onto. He trusted her more with it over himself. "Is there anything else, my Lady?"

"The others there already know all except what is written in the scroll," Ananke replied. "That is all that I will tell you now - the rest you shall learn with the others."

The primordial then turned, reaching out with the hand that held the spindle. The threads began to glow, unwinding from the spindle and beginning to form an oval in the air before them. They glowed brighter as they did, the bottommost threads just barely touching the boat's deck. The air in the center of the oval shivered, a golden light spreading from the very middle outwards towards the threads. The light was strong, yet soft enough to look at. Theseus and Ariadne stared at the forming portal in awe, taken in by it. It was beautiful and both could feel the raw power radiating from the forming hole in space and time, thought only vaguely aware that was what was happening.

"Stepping through this portal will take you where you need to be. When all is done, you will be returned to this moment, as if you never left, but hopefully with more insight than you otherwise would have had."

"Thank you, my Lady, for this honored chance," Theseus said to the primordial. "I know that, normally, the future and fate are things one should never attempt to change."

"There will _always_ be exceptions, with chances offered," Ananke said, voice becoming gentle. "Elsewise there would be no such thing as free will. Even when you do not know the future, each choice contributes to the path to your fate you will take. Already, you have side stepped many other fates you could have had - many deaths you could have had. Yes, this is unprecedented in this version of time, a path not yet taken before in this version of events, but it is not new to I and my husband. Now, go and learn, brave ones. Go and learn."

The two bowed their heads in respect to the goddess of inevitability before turning to the portal. Theseus glanced at Ariadne, who smiled at him and took his hand. He squeezed her hand gently in return, taking a deep breath and walking through it with her. He lead the way, but did not let go of her hand. He wanted her to know that he needed her support through this, that she grounded him in a way no one else ever had before other than his mother. It was hard for him to stay grounded, to not be a reckless fool despite the fact he was _apparently_ smart enough to get help from Lady Athena.

For a moment, Theseus couldn't see a thing. His vision was completely blocked out - he wasn't even sure if the world was pure white or pure black for that moment. When his vision returned, re-focusing, he felt himself practically going into shock as he stared at the sight before him. Twelve large thrones lay before him, and upon each sat men and women ranging from twelve feet to eight feet tall at his best estimation. At the center of the room sat who he knew could only be the rulers of Olympus - Zeus and Hera themselves. Zeus sat on the right, his black hair and beard graying, and Hera on the left. Her hair was pure black. Where Zeus had sky blue eyes, Hera's eyes were doe brown. To Zeus' right was who, based on the trident, Theseus realized was Poseidon.

His...his father. One of them. He immediately pushed those thoughts aside, taking in the sea green eyes and black hair. Theseus did a double take, realizing that Poseidon actually had two different colored eyes. Only one was sea green, the other was ocean blue. Where Zeus and Hero both looked stern - Zeus looking more stoic than Hera, who looked resigned but tried to look kind - Poseidon looked relaxed and had a small smile on his face. He looked like he smiled a lot. To Hera's left was a woman with hair of golden-blonde and golden-brown, which blended together in a way that reminded him of a field of harvest, meaning she was Demeter, and she had brown eyes like Hera. Next to Poseidon was whom Theseus assumed was Ares - the god wore clothes of war and a shield was leaning against his throne. He had eyes of fire and black hair. Next to Demeter was a girl somewhere between the ages of ten and fourteen, whose eyes were a soft fire like a hearth and her hair was a reddish brown, again reminding Theseus of a warm hearth somehow. Hestia, he realized, though he was mildly confused why she had a throne. He remembered this was the past, but when had she been an Olympian and why wasn't she one in the future?

Once more, Theseus forced himself to focus once more and his eyes went to the man next to Ares. The man was blonde, seemed distracted by something - not to mention tired - and he wore sandals with wings. He had a caduceus with twin snakes on it and his eyes were a light blue. He looked like a messenger to Theseus, so the man assumed that was Hermes. The woman on the other side of Hestia was Athena - the fierce goddess of wisdom having brown hair and grey eyes, just as he remembered from when she advised him. Besides Hermes was another blonde, who was studying Theseus and Ariadne just as much as Theseus was studying the gods. He looked just as laid back as Poseidon, if not more so, but there was something to the man's blue eyes that hinted he was more than he seemed. Apollo, Theseus figured. It was hard not to squirm beneath the man's studying.

Theseus quickly turned his attention to the last of the women, a goddess whose appearance seemed to shift that must have been Aphrodite. She looked a lot like Ariadne for the most part, however, a long with sharing similarities to other women Theseus had found attractive...which made Theseus uncomfortable. Particularly with how her kaleidoscope eyes were _also_ studying him and Ariadne. The other woman next to her was actually another girl - she looked between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, maybe thirteen if he stretched his estimation. She also made him uncomfortable, as her silver eyes studied him and Ariadne critically like Aphrodite and Apollo. Uncomfortable, he quickly directed his attention to the last of the male gods - Hephaestus. It was hard for Theseus to properly take in how Hephaestus looked, because his eyes kept being drawn towards Hephaestus's deformities. Feeling rude, Theseus finally looked away and noticed there were more than the twelve Olympians in the room.

There were three extra thrones on his left, where sat two women who were conversing with each other and seemed to be ignoring everyone else. One woman had eyes and hair that he couldn't quite grasp the coloration of, but gave him the distinct impression of springtime. Next to her was a woman with black hair that seemed to flow like water around her shoulders and dark eyes that reminded Theseus of what had been described to him once as the ocean's depths to look like in color. The third throne was occupied by a god who was paler than anyone else in the room, as if he did not often see the sun. He looked tired and resigned, as well as disinterested. He had black hair that was surprisingly long, pulled back out of his face, and he had one black eye and one gold eye. He must have been Hades, who Theseus still wondered why he wasn't considered an Olympian.

All the goddesses were, in their own right, gorgeous. Aphrodite was the most attractive by default, but only because of her ability to take the appearance of what one was most attracted. Otherwise, Theseus probably couldn't pick which one was most beautiful - even the two goddess at the side, who must have been minor goddesses ( _if_ he had to guess, he would say Amphitrite and Persephone, if only because of what they respectively reminded him of and they had thrones that were almost as grand as the Olympians' thrones, implying they were still very important).

Theseus could say that each of the gods had something about their looks to be envious of (even Hephaestus, which surprised Theseus who couldn't seem to get a good look at him without worrying he was staring _too_ much and that wasn't even considering the accounts that the god was supposed to be beyond ugly), but he couldn't say if they were attractive or not, given that he didn't really swing that way and so paid less attention to what usually made his gender attractive as much as to what made the women attractive. A glance at Ariadne, though, and he concluded the gods must be just as attractive as the goddesses from the look of awe on her face as she looked at the male gods. He wasn't sure if she was just looking at them, but decided it didn't matter and so didn't dwell on it - the point was that the gods were beyond impressive.

It wasn't just the gods who were there, though, Theseus realized as his gaze turned towards the floor more. Just opposite of the two goddesses set apart from the Olympians were those Theseus assumed to be mortal like him and Ariadne, given they were less impressive than the gods. Studying them, Theseus was surprised. He knew only one of them - because he was a god in the time Theseus came from. Dionysus, who had curly black hair and blue eyes. Theseus hadn't quite, before, believed that Dionysus was a godling. This, however, proved that Dionysus had been born one since he definitely didn't strike Theseus has being a god right now. Next to Dionysus was another man that, after a moment of staring, he realized he _did_ , in fact, know the man. Herakles.

Herakles looked just like the stories made him out to look - buff, broad-shouldered, and tall. He was probably the tallest godling here. Were all of them godlings? Theseus hoped there was at least _one_ normal mortal like Ariadne here, so she didn't feel out of place. Herakles had ebony-black hair and electric blue eyes. Near Hercules, but separated a little bit, was another black-haired man who sported ocean blue eyes. This man was looking at Theseus with an interest that made Theseus want to squirm so he quickly turned his attention to the last man. The man had grey eyes and hair like straw. Theseus was surprised to note that the man shared many similarities to Athena in appearance.

There was a woman among them, standing close to Herakles. Like many in the room, she had dark hair and her eyes were a deep, dark brown. She was tall and gorgeous, as well as graceful-looking, almost to a point that Theseus was unsure of her mortality. He glanced, again, at Ariadne, who in turn looked back at him. They were unsure of what else to do, as he could see uncertainty in his companion's eyes, so the two of them bowed to the gods. It was when they did this that the gods finally deigned to speak to them.

"It would seem that all whom Lady Ananke wanted to be present are present," Zeus spoke, voice loud and booming, not unlike thunder. "Come before us, mortals, and introduce yourself in full."

Theseus and Ariadne rose, joining the other humans closer to the thrones and lined up before the gods.

"I am Herakles, son of Zeus and formerly known as Alcides," introduced the demigod.

"I am Zoë, one of the Hesperides and daughter of Atlas," the woman introduced, surprising Theseus.

"I am Odysseus, son of Athena and king of Ithaca," the grey-eyed man introduced, making Theseus blink.

Okay, a Hesperide and a son of Athena. Why not? He had no idea how Athena was still a maiden goddess, but kept his mouth shut on the topic. He noticed, however, that even Athena herself looked surprised at this. This made Theseus conclude she had no children currently, so this Odysseus was likely from fairly far into the future. He also wasn't sure why a daughter of Atlas would be important here, but it probably had to do with the their garden in some manner. Maybe Herakles' labors? He couldn't be sure and would have to wait to find out.

"I am Dionysus, son of Zeus," spoke up the one-day-god. Theseus wasn't sure how far apart in age he and Herakles were by looking, but figured it was at least a year.

"I am Orion, son of Poseidon," voiced the ocean-eyed man, startling Theseus. Orion glanced at Theseus and gave him a smile. "I am one of Lady Artemis' hunters, and my vow to her was sworn by Lady Styx for the certainty of her other hunters about my presence."

That was...a complete shock to Theseus, who did not quite know how to process that. While he was processing that information, not aware that _male_ hunters could be a thing (and apparently the gods hadn't either, albeit Lady Artemis looked both pleased and intrigued. He caught her glancing in the direction of her brother, as if reaffirming something to herself), Ariadne introduced herself.

"I am ex-Princess Ariadne of Crete, daughter of King Minos and Queen Pasiphaë," she said. "Through them, I am granddaughter of Lord Zeus and Lord Helios. However, I am purely mortal despite this beyond being able to see clearly through sorcerous illusions." Gently, Ariadne nudged Theseus to rouse him from his thoughts.

"I am Theseus, heir of Athens, and..." here he took a breath, still coming to terms with his heritage, no matter how many things it explained, "and son of Poseidon."

As it was, Theseus was sometimes still in disbelief that he was the confirmed Prince of Athens. However, seeing the way Poseidon looked at both him and Orion with what looked like pride...it did make Theseus relax and even feel more confident in himself. It was like when he first met his mortal father, who had been so proud to receive him. This made Theseus settle some and feel more at ease here in the presence of the gods.

"It is a...a pleasure to meet you all," Hera said, despite the distasteful look she levied at Herakles, Dionysus, and Ariadne. She did eye Odysseus as well, but seemed to ignore Orion and Theseus for the moment. "Now, we were informed that you two," here she focused on Theseus and Ariadne, "would arrive with the explanation as to why the past and future were being brought together."

At this, Ariadne pulled out the scroll that had been entrusted to her. She unfurled it, prepared to read to to everyone.

" _Dear Descendants of Chaos,_ " Ariadne began, pausing in bafflement. That was...certainly one way to address everyone as a collective.

"Clever," muttered someone, but Ariadne did not look up to see who had spoken.

The woman simply cleared her throat and picked up reading from where she left off, " _You all have been gathered together for a very important reason. I have grown tired of being ignored, of my prophecies being pushed off by even Zeus himself, the so-called god of Justice and Honor,_ " Ariadne paused to glance at the sky-god in fear, but other than darkened eyes he looked stoic still, " _I bestow upon you prophecies as warnings of what is to come, so that you might prepare. Pushing them off and living in ignorance, in the end, has nearly cost you twice not only Olympus, but risked the world being overtaken by a new 'Golden Age' or even reverting back to the time of the Earth Mother's rule._ "

There was a shiver that ran down Theseus' spine, who looked at the gods with wide eyes. Even the gods looked shaken at this revelation, though some looked ready to out-right deny such possibility.

" _Due to this ignorance and folly,_ " continued the ex-Princess, now beyond nervous and in dread. " _I have dinged to take those most important to the shaping of the future, whose impacts are the greatest, and bring them back before any of their actions have been made. At the time you read this, the throne room will hold a daughter of Atlas, three descent of Zeus, two descent of Poseidon, and a descent of Athena. In the time of you gods, not one of them has been born yet and will not be for a few generations of humans more. And no, Hera, nothing would be solved if demigods disappeared. In fact, many of Zeus' own demigods are required for the future._"

Here, the goddess looked outraged. She turned a glare of rage upon Zeus, who did not look at her. After a moment, Hera turned back to Ariadne and motioned for her to continue, despite the goddess clearly still being quite upset with her husband and the thought she would have to continue to let him have demigod children.

" _These are not the only demigods who shall be required for this, however the others are from much, much farther into the future and I felt it best you get to know the most important of them through the first text before I brought any of them back,_ " the mortal legacy read. " _Now, what you will be doing is learning of the very distant future, and how your actions impact it, through several texts. At least ten, though depending on how the reading goes I may add more to drive home the point that actions have far-reaching consequences. Tired of Your Childishness, Ananke._ "

"Texts?" voice Apollo curious and interested. "Texts that speak of the future? How intriguing! This is certainly unprecedented. It has always been Ananke's will that the future remain vague and mostly obscured so that free will would not be obstructed." The god was curious what visions he may get due to this reading.

"I wonder if any of us who are currently single ended up finding a goddess to marry," mused Hermes. "Or if the council expanded to include more Olympians. How many of us who do not currently have mortal children will end up having mortal children in the future other than Athena?"

"I am curious as to _why_ I have mortal children at all," interjected the goddess, inspecting Odysseus with curiosity. "Surely no mere mortal could cause me to break my vows?"

"Perhaps these texts shall explain that," Hestia suggested, voice softest of the gods thus far. "If they do not, we have a son of yours we can ask."

"Were the texts sent with you?" asked Apollo, turning back to Ariadne and Theseus.

"They were not, my Lord," Theseus was the one to answer. "Lady Inevitability only gave us the scroll. I do not know why she did not give the texts themselves to us."

"That is because the texts were not yet ready," a voice answered, causing many to turn in surprise. "They are now however."

From the back of the throne room, near the entry doors, a man was approaching. His hair and eyes were purely golden, and he looked youthful yet stressed to some degree. Despite this, he sported a small smile as though he did not bother the troubles he bore. In his arms he carried the texts, bound in hard leather and with names upon them. Once he reached them, he set down the texts before glancing around. He snorted and snapped his hands, causing many strange objects to appear. After a moment of staring, Theseus found himself suddenly aware the objects were called couches and beanbags. The couches were wood and fabric with some form of cushioning and the beanbags were basically cloth stools with cushioning inside. He looked back at the man, who was - like Ananke had been - standing the height of a mortal.

"The reading will take a while," the man said, cheerful yet tired sounding. "So go on, make yourself comfortable. Ananke and I shall watch over you as you read. You should break every three or four chapters, do not forget to take time for eating and sleeping. My beloved and I shall provide all that all of you will need, do not worry about that."

Theseus blinked and the man was gone. There was a moment of deep silence from everyone before it was broken.

"Was that the father of time?"

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, now that you've read the chapter, here's a fun fact: I'm posting this on my 19th birthday! I've been actively writing and reading fanfiction for around a decade now! That like, a really long time and I've come a long way, I feel. I have a good feeling about this rewrite.
> 
> Now, I actually have a revelation: I am going to be writing a re-write of the Percy Jackson series from the perspective of an OC who is Percy's twin (Percy still being prophecy child, bc Percy is awesome, she's just his side-kick). Now! That leads me to a question: do you want to these characters to read my rewrite (I will still post the rewrite itself separately as well), or do you want them to read the canon series? This will affect my updates, but it will only minorly affect the overall plot of this Reading the Books story.
> 
> I would very much appreciate feedback, please!


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